Maire Leadbeater: Indonesia's generals at it again

A cartoon is circulating among human rights networks. It shows a finger-wagging Indonesian President Megawati exhorting one of her generals to "make sure you win their hearts and minds". The general, who holds a map of Aceh, reassures her: "Don't worry, we trained in East Timor."

The Aceh operation, like the 1975 assault on East Timor, began with an awesome display of military might - air, land and sea assaults, rocket and bomb attacks and even parachute commandos. Just as happened in East Timor, there is indiscriminate slaughter of the innocents.

A journalist investigating an attack in which children were killed was told by soldiers: "We already killed 10 rats over there." Thousands of refugees have been forced to flee their villages. And just as in East Timor, Indonesia is using weapons supplied by the United States, including Bronco counter-insurgency aircraft and Hercules transports.

Behind the talk of "crushing" the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) lies the sinister aim of separating the civilian population from the rebels, or in other words destroying the social and economic fabric of Aceh society.

In an attempt to destroy community morale in East Timor, the military relied heavily on the militia units it recruited, trained and armed. Similar groups in Aceh were almost certainly involved in the torching of nearly 300 schools, and the abduction of human rights workers.

There is a systematic attempt to destroy civilian movements, such as student, women's rights and pro-referendum organisations. Internationally respected leaders of these movements have been jailed.

Indonesia is also doing its best to repeat the closed-door policy that kept East Timor isolated from the prying eyes of journalists and human rights workers until 1989. International aid and human rights workers have been ordered out of Aceh and journalists have had their vehicles shot at.

Some argue that Indonesia's post-colonial history gives it more "rights" over Aceh than it had over East Timor. But Aceh people can mount a convincing historic case to being a distinct political entity or kingdom; the Dutch colonialists never subdued Aceh and were at war there from 1873 to 1942, when Japan invaded.

Indonesia's nationalist founders campaigned in the 1920s for a democratic nation-state across the ethnically diverse archipelago controlled by the Dutch, but it was to be voluntary union forged from a common anti-colonial struggle.

Acehnese nationalism has grown staunch over nearly three decades of militarisation and repression and because of the exploitation of its timber and oil and gas resources.

Jakarta's most recent "special autonomy" offer has drawn a cynical response from the Acehnese who believe that any economic benefits will flow to the pro-Jakarta ruling clique. Pro-referendum sentiment remains undiminished, but the military has prevented any repeat of a 1999 rally, when up to two million people, or half the population, mobilised peacefully in support of a vote on self-determination.

Surely the Acehnese are only asking for the same rights to freedom as guaranteed to all peoples in United Nations human rights covenants?

However, the independence or autonomy debate can be set aside for now. The cessation of hostilities agreement signed last December was about creating a situation of peace, not reaching a final political settlement. GAM had conceded that special autonomy could be the starting point for an "all-inclusive dialogue".

But the Indonesian Government torpedoed that agreement when it began a huge deployment of troops, including contingents of the feared Kopassus special forces.

The independent peace monitors were attacked by well-organised mobs that most believe had military backing, and had no choice but to withdraw from their rural offices. Then Jakarta arrested GAM negotiators as they prepared to fly to the last-ditch Tokyo meeting.

Finally, Jakarta, in clear contravention of the December agreement, insisted on an ultimatum that GAM renounce any aim of independence, and accept special autonomy - end of story.

Major General Adam Damiri, undoubtedly the cartoonist's model, should be appearing before a Jakarta human rights court. He is the highest ranked of all the 18 officers on trial for the 1999 violence in East Timor. But he has been excused from attending because, as one of the top brass, he is busy executing the military operation in Aceh.

New Zealand's response to the crisis has been decidedly low-key. Helen Clark and Phil Goff uncritically back Jakarta's special autonomy plans. (Ungrateful Acehnese - don't they know what is good for them?)

But New Zealand is not an innocent bystander; we covered Indonesia's back while it invaded East Timor and for the next two decades upheld the occupation as "irreversible".

This time around we should pull no punches but demand Indonesia end its military attack and revoke the draconian martial law edict.

Negotiations should be resumed but with a crucial difference - representatives of Aceh's non-violent civilian movements should be included, too.

And last but not least, we should insist that the East Timor recidivist generals face genuine justice. That means they must face an international tribunal, like the criminals responsible for atrocities in Yugoslavia and Rwanda.

The patsy Jakarta court that has let most of them off, and released the rest while they appeal against their sentences, should be exposed for what it is - a shameful farce.

* Maire Leadbeater is a spokeswoman for the Indonesia Human Rights Committee.